EU - Horizon 2020 update: the Submission Service for the ERC Synergy 2018 Call is now available on the Horizon 2020 Participant Portal. Application guidelines and proposal form templates are accessible on the RGP website.

This grant provides funding of up to €10M for a period of 6 years and is designed to enable minimum two to maximum four Principal Investigators and their teams to bring together complementary skills, knowledge, and resources in new ways, in order to jointly address ambitious research problems. A general overview of the call can be viewed here; for additional information please contact the EU Desk.

IMOS recently clarified that the call for China-Israel Cooperationhas not yet been published in China. However, at a meeting held in August 2017 with representatives of the Chinese Ministry of Science and representatives of the Chinese Embassy in Israel, it was agreed that the research proposals will be submitted until the end of the aforementioned date (28 September) to the Israeli side only. After examining the proposals in terms of threshold conditions, the list of proposals will be communicated to the Chinese side. These proposals will then undergo a rapid process of evaluation and scientific judgment and the final recommendations regarding the proposals will be sent to the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology. IMOS will endeavor, in coordination with its Chinese partners, to enable the funding of research grants to be awarded by the end of 2017.

EU - Horizon 2020 update: the Submission Service for the ERC Starting 2018 Call is now available on the Horizon 2020 Participant Portal. Application guidelines and proposal form templates are accessible on the RGP website.

This grant provides funding of up to €1.5M for a period of 5 years and is designed to support researchers who are at the stage of starting their own independent research team or programme and received their PhDs 2-7 years prior to 1.1.2018. Note that the eligibility time-window may be extended in several cases. For additional information on the call’s eligibility criteria please contact the EU Desk.

A meeting with Matthew D. Kane, NSF Program Director at the Division of Environmental Biology (BIO/DEB), Theresa Good, NSF Program Director at the Division of Molecular and Cellular Bioscience, and with BSF representatives, regarding application to the BSF-NSF and BSF programs, will be taking place on Thursday, 7 September 2017, between 10:00 and 12:00, at the 7th Floor of the Acceleration Building (Koffler Tower).

Please note that although the speakers are from two Biology divisions, they will nevertheless provide information relevant to ALL NSF-BSF programs. In addition, BSF representatives will give a general presentation with tips for a successful BSF application process.

Legacy PDF Application Package will be phased out in 31 December 2017.

Applicants will no longer be able to download the older, single PDF application package of forms.

Applicants can apply for grants using Grants.gov Workspace, which separates the application package into individual forms. Applicants can create a workspace, complete the individual PDF forms, and submit their application workspace package.

The new online forms interface is now available in Grants.gov (as of February 2017) and is only accessible through Workspace.

For any funding opportunities where applicants have downloaded the legacy PDF application package, they will be able to continue to submit that package until 31 March 2018.

For more information about Grants.gov Workspace, you may visit various Workspace resources:

As this is a completely new way of submitting applications to the US federal government, we ask that you inform RGP early of your intention to submit (at least one month) to allow a smooth transition and work flow.

Weizmann researchers are invited to attend a workshop on writing a successful ERC-Starting/Consolidator proposal taking place at the Weizmann Institute on Monday, 31 July 2017 at 09:00-14:00. The workshop will be given by European consultant Ms. Lotte Jaspers who will provide an overview of the ERC-StG and CoG under H2020 and of the proposal structure with a focus on how to address the evaluation criteria and maximize the impact of the proposal.

Full details of the day’s agenda and a registration link (required by Sunday, 23 July) can be viewed here.

"Ktav Kabala" On-line Submission: The ISF recently sent notification letters. Awardees should upload the confirmation form ("Ktav Kabala vehitchayvut") through their personal account on ISF online. Please make sure to upload only "Ktav Kabala vehitchayvut (3 Pages)" and NOT the entire award letter. The option to upload the document will be available in the next few days. Note that NO Hard copies OR emails will be accepted!

SAVE THE DATE - an H2020 ERC-Synergy info-session with European consultant Ms. Lotte Jaspers, will take place at the Weizmann Institute on Monday, 31 July 2017, between 14:30-16:00. Please see here for further details.

The ERC Synergy Grant scheme, which ran under two pilot calls in 2012 and 2013, will be re-launched in the ERC Work Programme 2018. It is expected that the call will be published on 19 July 2017 (subject to the adoption of the Work Programme 2018 by the European Commission), with a deadline of 14 November 2017. Please see here for further details.

IMOS recently (19/6/17) updated that theIsraeli and French PIs may submit an application to the France-Israel PRC call for proposals without already having a joint publication; however, joint publications (as other joint products demonstrating a fruitful collaboration) are nevertheless an important criteria in the evaluation process. In addition, IMOS clarified that funding from other sources will be viewed favorably in the evaluation process.

SAVE THE DATE - an H2020 ERC-Starting and Consolidator ‘Writing a Successful Proposal’ Workshop, with European consultant Ms. Lotte Jaspers, will take place at the Weizmann Institute on Monday, 31 July 2017, between 09:00-14:00. Please see here for further details.

ISERD conducts a survey among researchers at the academic and research institutes in order to understand their needs and motivations regarding involvement in the European Framework program and the services offered to them by ISRAD and the research authorities.

The questionnaire is intended for all researchers and not only for researchers who applied for grants from a European Framework program. For further information please see here.

The BSF advised that NSF Computer Sciences directors will give short presentations on the practical aspects of submission to BSF-NSF programs, to take place on the first week of June. Note that none of these will take place at the Weizmann Institute. Locations and dates are detailed here.

The submission service for the ERC Advanced 2017 Call is now available on the Horizon 2020 Participant Portal. Information about the call including application guidelines and proposal form templates are accessible here.

PIs that are currently in the last year of their ISF project may apply for a no-cost extension starting 15 May and until mid-July (a specific deadline was not provided). Application is submitted using the PI's personal ISF account.

The BSF advised that the budget set for this year and for the next two years is insufficient to fund all of the existing BSF-NSF programs. Therefore, the BSF must limit the annual budget of all BSF-NSF projects involved in data collection and processing to $ 70,000, and of theoretical work to $ 40,000. Accordingly, the BSF will make the necessary changes in the budgets of all the active projects, both those that began this year as well as ongoing projects (including those that have already been renewed in the current budget year).

The Research Grants and Projects (RGP) Office is pleased to announce that the new Grants Management System announced previously has launched and is now operational.

Aside from the advanced tools for grant management that the system will provide to RGP staff, it complements the services provided by the RGP to Weizmann researchers via the Researcher’s Grant Portal, which is accessible via direct link from the RGP home page (under "Grants & Forms").

The Researcher’s Grant Portal will provide each PI with access, on the one hand, to an overview of basic information on the researcher’s grants and grant applications (pending and approved), and on the other hand, to the researcher’s Internal Forms, under two tabs named accordingly.

In the framework of the new system, the Internal Form process has been significantly streamlined and simplified for the PI. By contrast to the current system whereby the PI must log into the system, initiate a new internal form, and fill in all the grant-related information before completing the relevant ethical declarations, the new system provides the PI with a direct link via e-mail to a pre-filled Internal Form for each grant, in which all the basic grant-related information has already been completed (based on information provided by the PI to the RGP about the submitted proposal), leaving the PI only to review the information, complete the declarations, and submit the form to the RGP.

The deadline to the JOY Ventures grants call for proposalshas been extended from the original 13 March (RGP) and 20 March (Agency) to 26 March (RGP) and 30 March 2017 (Agency). In addition, the 2 minutes video statement is no longer mandatory.

The Research Grants and Projects (RGP) Office is pleased to announce that a new Grants Management System will be launched next week. In addition to providing the RGP staff with advanced tools for grant management and improved connectivity with related Weizmann systems, we will also be able to provide basic information to researchers on their research grants (pending and approved) via the Researcher's Grant Portal, which will be found at the URL from which the Internal Form system was previously accessed (accessible via direct link from the RGP home page, under "Grants & Forms").

The Researcher's Grant Portal will provide each PI with access, on the one hand, to an overview of basic information on the researcher's grants and grant applications, and on the other hand, to the researcher's Internal Forms, under two tabs named accordingly.

In the framework of the new system, the Internal Form process has been significantly streamlined and simplified for the PI. By contrast to the current system whereby the PI must log into the system, initiate a new internal form, and fill in all the grant-related information before completing the relevant ethical declarations, the new system provides the PI with a direct link to a pre-filled Internal Form in which all the basic grant-related information has already been completed (based on information provided by the PI to the RGP about submitted proposals), leaving the PI only to review the information, complete the declarations, and submit the form to the RGP.

Please note that the transition to the new system will require a period of three days (March 19-21, 2017), during which time no new projects will be able to be created in Tafnit. In case of urgent matters which require attention in Tafnit, please coordinate with the RGP in advance of the transition period (no later than Wednesday, 15 March 2017).

We would like to take this opportunity to remind all Weizmann faculty and staff that the Weizmann Institute places prime importance on the ability to create and maintain an environment that encourages the highest standards of excellence, ethics and integrity, and compliance with the requirements of research sponsors and national and international legislation.

Detailed information about the policies in place at the Weizmann Institute to ensure such compliance and ethical standards, as well as the Weizmann Institute’s Code of Ethical Conduct, can be found at the following URL (also accessible via a direct link on the RGP home page, under RGP Additional Services > Ethics and Compliance):

Deadlines to the US DARPA Pandemic Prevention Platform (P3) (HR00117S0019) call for proposals have been extended from the original 13 March to 20 March 2017 (Agency Abstract), and from the original 1 May to 8 May 2017 (Agency Full Proposal). Note also the consequent changes in the submission deadlines to the RGP.

We are checking the possibility of holding an H2020 ERC-Advanced Workshop, with European consultant Ms. Lotte Jaspers. The planned date is Tuesday 4 April 2017 (~09:00-13:30). The workshop will take place subject to a minimum number of participants and we would, therefore, like to check your interest and availability.

Please notify the EU Deskby Tuesday 28 February 2017 if you are interested in participating in the workshop and are available on 4 April 2017.

The ERC-Advanced Grant (AdG) is designed to support independent researchers with a track record of significant research achievements in the last ten years. The maximum grant amount is 2.5 million Euros with an option to request an additional amount of 1 million Euros for the purchase of major equipment and/or access to large facilities.

The ERC-2017-AdG call deadline is 31 August 2017 and the call is scheduled to open in mid-May.

IMOA has extended the deadline of its invitation to gather ideas for a future call for proposals for innovative and focused products to be developed in the area of agriculture using genome editing technologies. Note that no funding is being offered. IMOA guidelines are available here and ideas should be submitted via email to dality@moag.gov.il by 1 March 2017 (instead of the original 1 February 2017).

We are checking the possibility of holding an H2020 ERC-Advanced Workshop, with European consultant Ms. Lotte Jaspers. The planned date is Tuesday 4 April 2017 (~09:00-13:30). The workshop will take place subject to a minimum number of participants and we would, therefore, like to check your interest and availability.

Please notify the EU Deskby Tuesday 23 February 2017 if you are interested in participating in the workshop and are available on 4 April 2017.

The ERC-Advanced Grant (AdG) is designed to support independent researchers with a track record of significant research achievements in the last ten years. The maximum grant amount is 2.5 million Euros with an option to request an additional amount of 1 million Euros for the purchase of major equipment and/or access to large facilities.

The ERC-2017-AdG call deadline is 31 August 2017 and the call is scheduled to open in mid-May.

Effective January 25, 2017: NIH eliminated most types of appendix materials for grant applications intended for due dates on or after January 25. Applications will be withdrawn if they are submitted with appendix materials that are not specifically listed in NOT-OD-17-035, or specified in the specific funding opportunity announcement to which you are applying.

IMOA has advised that a new call for collaboration with researchers from Japan is expected to be published during February. See here for additional information received from Dr. Avi Perl, Chief Scientist at IMOA.

An updated list of regulated infectious agents and toxins (from 17/1/17) is now available, further to new regulations of the pathogens law approved by the Knesset. This list now includes pathogens that were considered to be of Biological Safety Level 2 (BL2). Researchers who are in possession of BL2 agents are requested to contact Dalia Seger at their earliest convenience.

IMOS has clarified that in the Israeli form of the IMOS-Italy call for proposals items 1 through 3 should be limited to a total of 8 pages (instead of 10 pages, as indicated in the form), similarly to the Italian version.

The Israel Academy Contact Center is launching its new computer program and interactive bulletin board, aimed at enabling researchers to advertise positions and edit them, including positions for EU Marie Curie fellowships. For further information and instructions see here.

The objective of the H2020 consultation is to collect information from a wide audience on different aspects of Horizon 2020 implementation. Individual researchers and organisations are welcome to contribute to this consultation by 15 January 2017. See here for more information and for access to the online questionnaire.

The RGP puts great effort in searching for and publishing calls relevant to WIS researchers, and in circulating these via the RGP website and weekly bulletin. Occasionally, researchers come across agencies or specific calls that are unbeknown to the RGP. In such cases, kindly contact the RGP’s Research Information Services officer, Danna Piroyansky, in order to enable further processing and circulation of these new agencies/calls. As always, the RGP is at your disposal, and available to all queries related to research grants and projects.

eRA is strengthening the security of its modules on November 30 by moving to the "https only" secure connection for websites, as mandated for all federal agencies. With the implementation of this security protocol, older internet browsers may not work, and you may need to update your browser to access any eRA module, including eRA Commons, ASSIST, IAR and iEdison.

An October 26 eRA email bulletin lists the web browsers and versions that will continue to work after the security upgrade. While these versions will continue to work past November 30, for an optimal experience when using eRA modules, we encourage you to use the browsers and software versions listed in the eRA browser compatibility statement. (Note that eRA uses Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer to develop and test its modules for browser compatibility.)

EU - Horizon 2020 update: the Submission Service for the ERC Consolidator 2017 Call is now available on the Horizon 2020 Participant Portal. Application guidelines and proposal form templates are accessible on the RGP website.

This grant provides funding of up to EURO 2M for a period of 5 years and is designed to support researchers who are at the stage at which they may still be consolidating their own independent research team or programme and received their PhDs 7-12 years prior to 1.1.2017. Note that the eligibility time-window may be extended in several cases. For additional information on the call’s eligibility criteria please contact the EU Desk.

Full proposals for the Ceramics program and the Condensed Matter and Materials Theory program within the BSF-NSF Materials call can be submitted to the BSF by the Israeli scientist only, and by the research authorities of all Israelis requesting funding at any time during the year, following the NSF restrictions, which include a limit of a single proposal per year. Israeli PIs applying to these programs should inform the BSF office of the planned submission in these two programs, to enable tracking of the processing by the NSF.

Scientists/Staff Scientists/Heads of core facilities whom have been approached by EU Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) and/or are participating in such a network, including Preparatory Phase projects funded under FP7, are requested to contact the EU Desk immediately.

A NEW internal program is being launched this year for funding of dedicated scientific equipment for individual research groups, with a 9 October 2016 deadline. For more information please see the relevant RGP webpage.

Dr. Linda Hyman, Director of the NSF Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB) Division will give a short presentation and be available for pre-scheduled short personal meetings.

The session will take place on Thursday 22 September 2016, 09:00 - 12:00, at the de Picciotto Conference Room (New Administration Building, Floor 0).

Researchers interested in participating, as well as researchers wishing to meet with Dr. Hyman at the end of the session,should contact Cocava Cohen (Cocava.cohen@weizmann.ac.il) by 20 September 2016. Please note that meetings will be scheduled only further to prior appointment, in order to allow for Dr. Hyman required preparation.

The GIF Information Session has been rescheduled and will take place on Sunday 18 September 2016, 10:00 - 11:30, at the Presidential Reception Room, The David Lopatie Conference Centre.

Mrs. Mina Horesh (Head of GIF Science Administration) and Dr. Cellina Cohen (Head of GIF Science) will present the GIF programs, discuss recent changes to the application process, refer to specific questions that were submitted before the session, and be available for pre-scheduled short personal discussions.

Researchers interested in participating, as well as researchers wishing to submit questions to and/or meet with GIF representatives at the end of the session, should contact Cocava Cohen (Cocava.cohen@weizmann.ac.il) by 15 September 2016. Please note that questions will be referred to and meetings will be scheduled only further to prior appointment, in order to allow for GIF representatives required preparations.

IMOS/MOST wishes to stress that researchers who have received funding from the agency must acknowledge IMOS’ support in publications, conferences and/or the media. See here for IMOS letter with the required phrasing according to type of funding.

The GIF Information Session at the WIS, originally scheduled for 5 September 2016, HAS BEEN CANCELLED. The RGP will communicate any new information on a future meeting via the RGP bulletin and website.

EU - Horizon 2020 update: the Submission Service for the ERC Starting 2017 Call is now available on the Horizon 2020 Participant Portal. Application guidelines and proposal form templates are accessible on the RGP website.

This grant provides funding of up to Euro 1.5M for a period of 5 years and is designed to support researchers who are at the stage of starting their own independent research team or programme and received their PhDs 2-7 years prior to 1.1.2017. Note that the eligibility time-window may be extended in several cases. For additional information on the call’s eligibility criteria please contact the EU Desk.

Weizmann researchers are invited to attend a workshop on Writing a Successful ERC-Starting/Consolidator Proposal.
The workshop (originally planned for 3 August 2016) will take place on Thursday 4 August 2016, 09:00-14:00 at the Koshland Seminar Room ("The Aquarium"), Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Building for Biomedical Research.
The workshop will be given by European consultant Ms. Lotte Jaspers who will provide an overview of the ERC-StG and CoG under H2020 and of the proposal structure with a focus on how to address the evaluation criteria and maximize the impact of the proposal.

A meeting with BSF representatives regarding opportunities and tips for application to the BSF and BSF-NSF programs (with score submission errors and how to avoid them) will be taking place on Thursday 28 July 2016 at 09:00 in the Wix Auditorium (the small hall).

Researchers interested in participating, as well as researchers wishing to meet with BSF representatives at the end of the day, should contact Cocava Cohen (Cocava.cohen@weizmann.ac.il) by 24 July 2016. Please note that meetings could be scheduled only further to prior appointment, in order to allow for BSF representatives required preparations.

Weizmann researchers are invited to attend a workshop on Writing a Successful ERC-Starting/Consolidator Proposal taking place at the Weizmann Institute on Wednesday 3 August 2016 at 09:00-14:00. The workshop will be given by European consultant Ms. Lotte Jaspers who will provide an overview of the ERC-StG and CoG under H2020 and of the proposal structure with a focus on how to address the evaluation criteria and maximize the impact of the proposal. Full details of the day’s agenda and registration (required by Sunday, 24 July) can be viewed here.

LOI deadline for the CURE Post-Traumatic Epilepsy Awardhas been extended from the original 29 June (RGP) and 6 July (Agency) to 13 July (RGP) and 20 July 2016 (Agency). Full proposal submission deadline has also been extended and is only for those invited to submit.

EU - Horizon 2020 update: the Submission Service for the ERC Advanced 2016 Call is now available on the Horizon 2020 Participant Portal. Application guidelines and proposal form templates are accessible on the RGP website.

The ISF has clarified that PIs interested in requesting a no-cost extension for their ISF grants must submit such requests using the ISF Online system between 15 May and 30 July of the latest grant's year. Any such request received after 30 July will not be considered.

During the Passover holiday the RGP will be providing essential services only.

The RGP office will be open until 12:30 PM on the following dates: Sunday - Wednesday, 24-27 April 2016

The RGP office will be open until 11:30 AM on the following date: Thursday, 28 April 2016

If any signatures or assistance from the RGP office are required during this period, please be aware that signatures could not be provided and make sure to contact us by the middle of next week (19 April 2016).

Please note that the Projects Branch in the Finance Division will be closedthroughout Passover, and that researchers will not be able to have their budgets approved during that time.

Weizmann researchers are invited to attend a workshop on Writing a Successful ERC-Advanced Proposal taking place at the Weizmann Institute on Thursday 5 May 2016 at 09:00-13:30 (the week after Pesach).

The workshop will be given by European consultant Ms. Lotte Jaspers who will provide guidance for preparing an ERC-AdG proposal and will discuss issues of specific concern for advanced applicants, as well as advise on proposal resubmission and applying for a second ERC grant. Full details of the day’s agenda and registration (required by Sunday, 10 April) can be viewed here.

MAFAT representatives will arrive at the Weizmann Institute to meet researchers in relation with IMOD 2016 call for proposals. The meeting is intended to provide further information and expand on the new MAFAT call recently issued, to meet current awardees and potential applicants, and to initiate a fruitful and personal dialogue between MAFAT personnel and WIS researchers.

The meeting will take place on Thursday, 3 March 2016 at 09:00, at the David Lopatie Conference Center and will include:

MAFAT presentations (1 hours)

Q and A session (0.5 hour)

One on one meetings with researchers (1 hour)

Researchers interested in attending the presentation and/or scheduling a one on one meeting are requested to contact Regina Krizhanovsky (regina.krizhanovsky@weizmann.ac.il, Tel.: 4027) by Sunday, 28 February 2016.

A new H2020 funding option has been published in the area of Research Infrastructures which provides the prospect for researchers to join currently established research infrastructure networks in given areas and receive funding for operational costs for their existing research infrastructures and for networking activities. Click here for more information.

IMOA has published the following notice, inviting researchers to a symposium towards the launching of a call for joint research with the food industry. The symposium will take place on 18 February 2016.

At the request of the NSF-BSF Israeli advisory panel, the BSF has changed the regulation that allowed the submission of more than a single NSF- BSF application. The new regulation states: Each Israeli scientist is allowed to submit only a single pre-proposal/full proposal [to BSF-NSF programs]. Moreover, an Israeli scientist who has any pending NSF-BSF application, or has any active NSF-BSF grant that is not in its last year, is not allowed to submit an application to any of the NSF-BSF programs.

Further to ISF decision, reports MUST be submitted online only; NO HARD COPIES REPORTS ARE REQUIRED. If researchers indicate that certain papers have been published as a result of research funded by the ISF, they should upload the relevant files to the website, or, alternatively, enclose a list with links to the said papers.

EU - Horizon 2020 update: the Submission Service for the ERC Consolidator 2016 Call is now available on the Horizon 2020 Participant Portal. Application guidelines and proposal form templates are accessible on the RGP website.

This grant provides funding of up to 2M Euro for a period of 5 years and is designed to support researchers who received their PhDs within 7-12 years prior to 1.1.2016 and are at the career stage in which they may still be consolidating their own independent research team or programme. Note that the eligibility time-window may be extended in several cases. For additional information on the call’s eligibility criteria please contact the EU Desk.

Registration: Further to ISF decision, and unlike in previous years, REGISTRATION TO THE ISF ONLINE SYSTEM MUST BE COMPLETED BY THE INDICATED DEADLINE (25 October 2015 at 12:00).

Full Proposal: Further to ISF decision, and unlike in previous years, Research Authorities' review and administrative changes WILL NOT be able to be entered into the proposal after the Agency deadline (8 November at 12:00). Therefore, submission deadline to the RGP, as to all other Research Authorities, will be a week in advance (1 November) of the Agency deadline. APPLICANTS SUBMITTING TO THE RGP AFTER 1 NOVEMBER WILL NEED TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THAT THE RGP MIGHT NOT BE IN A POSITION TO REVIEW THE PROPOSAL AND CORRECT IT ADMINISTRATIVELY.

Reports Submission: Further to ISF decision, reports must be submitted online only; NO HARD COPY REPORTS ARE REQUIRED.

NIH has issued Notices of Correction for Foreign Institutions Eligibility for the following funding opportunities (note that although in the original RFAs below Foreign Institutes still appear as ineligible, they are in fact eligible to submit):

The BSF has published new regulations that will be relevant to all BSF-NSF programmes from now on:

Scientists will be allowed to submit both to an NSF-BSF program and the regular BSF program, including similar applications.

In the event that they are awarded a grant in both programs, they will be funded in both, unless the research application is mostly similar, in which case only their NSF-BSF program will be funded.

In the case of similar NSF-BSF and regular BSF applications, in which the NSF evaluation was not completed by the time the regular BSF awards are made, the BSF will defer its decision regarding a possible grant to this application, until the NSF-BSF awards are announced.

All others eligibility regulations that appear in the Calls for Proposals are still applicable.

Registration: Be advised that further to ISF decision, and unlike in previous years, REGISTRATION TO THE ISF ONLINE SYSTEM MUST BE COMPLETED BY THE INDICATED DEADLINE (25 October 2015 at 12:00).

Full Proposal: Be advised that further to ISF decision, and unlike in previous years, Research Authorities' review and administrative changes WILL NOT be able to be entered into the proposal after the Agency deadline (8 November at 12:00). Therefore, submission deadline to the RGP, as to all other Research Authorities, will be a week in advance (1 November) of the Agency deadline. APPLICANTS SUBMITTING TO THE RGP AFTER 1 NOVEMBER WILL NEED TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THAT THE RGP MIGHT NOT BE IN A POSITION TO REVIEW THE PROPOSAL AND CORRECT IT ADMINISTRATIVELY.

Anyone wishing to apply to the NIH with a due date of 5 October 2015 should be mindful that, due to the holidays, administrative personnel will either be entirely off or work on a skeleton staff capacity.

Applications for which WIS is the applicant PI should be submitted to RGP by 8 September 2015, after having received Finance approval.

Applications where WIS is a subaward, should be submitted to RGP by 20 September 2015 after having received Finance approval.

Finance will be unavailable to approve budgets from 27 September until 7 October 2015.

A presentation on the Life sciences application process in the NSF will be provided by Dr. Michelle Elekonich (from the NSF) at the WIS, on Thursday, 3 September 2015, between 14:00 - 16:00, at the Presidential Reception Room of the Lopatie Building.Researchers intending to participate are kindly asked to inform Cocava Cohen at the RGP.

EU - Horizon 2020 update: the Submission Service for the ERC Starting 2016 Call is now available on the Horizon 2020 Participant Portal. Application guidelines and proposal form templates are accessible on the RGP website.

This grant provides funding of up to Euro 1.5M for a period of 5 years and is designed to support researchers who are at the stage of starting their own independent research team or programme and received their PhDs 2-7 years prior to 1.1.2016. Note that the eligibility time-window may be extended in several cases. For additional information on the call’s eligibility criteria please contact the EU Desk.

Weizmann researchers are invited to attend a workshop on Writing a Successful ERC-Starting /Consolidator Proposal taking place at the Weizmann Institute on Monday 7 September 2015 at 09:00-14:00.

The workshop will be given by European consultant Ms. Lotte Jaspers who will provide an overview of the ERC-StG and CoG under H2020 and of the proposal structure with a focus on how to address the evaluation criteria and maximize the impact of the proposal. Full details of the day’s agenda and registration (required by Sunday, 30 August)can be viewed here.

Within the Weizmann Institute there is a Video Conferencing Bridge (SCOPIA). It is ideal for work group sessions from all over the world, allowing video sessions (and presentations) for up to 20 participants.

The Full Proposal deadline for the DARPA DSO Office-Wide BAA (DARPA-BAA-15-39) call for proposals has been extended from the original 16 June (RGP) and 2 July 2016 (Agency) to 16 June (RGP) and 30 June 2016 (Agency).

EURAXES has clarified that the call for expressions of interest from PIs holding an ERC grant to host Japanese postdoctoral researchers will be launched by the ERC later this year and the first Japanese visits will take place in 2016.

The BSF-NSF are expecting to start a new program with the Materials division of the NSF. At the planned meeting Prof. Zeev Rosenzweig (formerly director of the international program of the chemistry division of the NSF) will describe the new program, explain the differences between submission to the NSF and to the ISF or BSF, and point out possible pitfalls in the NSF applications. Prof. Rosenzweig will also answer questions regarding BSF-NSF opportunities more generally. The talk is expected to berelevant to scientists from materials, condense matter physics (which is part of material sciences at the NSF), chemistry, biotechnology and nanotechnology, and will take place on Sunday, 21 June 2015, 14:30 - 16:30 at the Michael and Anna Wix Auditorium (#16 in the Campus Map). Researchers intending to participate, please contact Cocava Cohen (cocava.cohen@weizmann.ac.il) by 18 June.

We are happy to announce a new pilot initiative for providing guidance to Weizmann scientists in locating and matching H2020 calls relevant to their research. For this purpose, the RGP has concluded an agreement with Bgator, an experienced European consultancy company.

Generally, the service provided by the company will include two skype meetings with the researcher: the first, to familiarize the consultant with the scientist’s research activities and funding needs; the second, to present and discuss the findings of the survey conducted by the company. Scientists will also receive a report detailing the relevant calls and their compatibility with their specific research activities and funding needs.

The cost of this service is Euro 1,000 out of which Weizmann will cover 2/3 and the remaining 1/3 will be covered by the scientist.

Kindly note that the number of participants in the pilot is limited. Therefore, please contact the EU Desk as soon as possible, should you wish to take part in the pilot and/or receive any further information.

Following the pilot’s conclusion and based on the feedback from participating scientists, the option to offer the service to a broader number of scientists, in the future, will be assessed.

The new Research Grants and Projects (RGP) website has been operating now for over one year. During this time, we have received a number of comments, many positive and others providing constructive feedback for improvements.

The RGP has been working with the Information Services Division to correct any problems identified on the website, and to provide added functionality. We hope to be able to complete this upgrade by Autumn 2015.

In view of this, and as requested previously, we welcome any additional comments/suggestions users of the site may have which would help us focus our efforts as best possible.

In order to find reviewers as part of IMOA Chief Scientist Call, researchers intending to submit an application for a Meyzam (project) are invited to email DalitY@moag.gov.il at IMOA with the following information: 1) Names of PI and other researchers, 2) Name of the Meyzam, 3) Preferred evaluation committee, 4) Abstract (if available). This information should reach IMOA preferably by 22 April 2015.

The Revised NIH Grants Policy Statement (released 31 March 2015) includes changes in statutes, regulations, and policies that have been implemented since the previous version, including the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for HHS Awards.

During the Passover holiday the RGP will be providing essential services only.

The RGP office will be open until 12:30 PM on the following dates:

* Sunday - Wednesday, 5-8 April 2015

The RGP office will be open until 11:30 AM on the following date:

* Thursday, 9 April 2015

If any signatures or assistance from the RGP office are required during this period, please be aware that signatures could not be provided and make sure to contact us by the middle of next week (31 March 2015).

Please note that the Projects Branch in the Finance Division will be closedthroughout Passover, and that researchers will not be able to have their budgets approved during that time.

State in the cover letter that the studies proposed will generate large-scale human and/or non-human genomic data, and include a genomic data sharing plan in the application;

Briefly address their plans for requesting access to the data, and state their intention to abide by the NIH Genomic Data User Code of Conduct in the Research Plan of the application, in the event applicants plan to use controlled-access human genomic data from NIH-designated data repositories as a secondary user to achieve the specific aims in the application;

Make every effort to include a genomic data sharing plan in the application that outlines plans to comply with the expectations outlined in the Policy, and

Plan to transition to a consent for future research uses and broad sharing, if possible, if the studies involve human participants and were initiated before the Policy's effective date and used consents that do not meet the expectations of the GDS Policy, in the event that the applications involve research funded prior to the Policy's effective date.

Deadline for the US DOD - DARPA call for Innovative Systems for Military Missions (DARPA-BAA-14-25)has been extended to 16 April (RGP) and 24 April 2015 (Agency) for Executive Summaries and for White Papers (which are strongly encouraged but not mandatory). Full proposal deadline has remained 24 April 2015 (Agency)

The UN-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), in which Israel is a member, enables Israeli researches to apply for appointment as committees members via a call for participation. Submission is via an online form with a 31 March 2015 deadline, and candidates are asked to cc Rina Stitcher from the Ministry of the Environment to the application. Note that for time being neither the IPBES nor the Ministry of the Environment are offering funding for this activity. For further queries please contact Ayelet Rozen at the Ministry of the Environment.

After 17 years of dedicated service at the RGP, Drora Kaplan has chosen to assume new responsibilities within the department of Organic Chemistry. Over the course of her duties at RGP, Drora has handled a way array of functions, ending as the officer in charge of Israeli agencies, among other things. We would like to thank Drora for her contribution throughout the years, and wish her success in her new position.

Weizmann researchers are invited to attend a workshop on Writing a Successful ERC-Advanced (AdG) Proposal taking place at the Weizmann Institute on Wednesday 18 March, 2015 at 09:00-13:00.
The workshop will be given by European consultant Ms. Lotte Jaspers who will provide an overview of the ERC-AdG under H2020 and of the proposal structure with a focus on how to address the evaluation criteria and maximize the impact of the proposal.
Full details of the day’s agenda and registration (required by tomorrow, Friday 13 March) can be viewed here.

Further to ISF clarification, researchers with active grants are eligible to apply to the ISF-INCPM call for proposals even if they currently are in the project's last year (excluding an extension year)

The Submission Service for the ERC Advanced 2015 Call is now available on the Horizon 2020 Participant Portal. Accordingly, application guidelines and proposal form templates are accessible on the RGP website.

PRACE Research Infrastructure (under FP7) provides a persistent world-class high performance computing service for scientists and researchers from academia and industry in Europe, with its 11th call submission deadline on 18 March 2015. Further information is available here.

The Israel-EU Research and Development Directorate (ISERD), in collaboration with the UK Embassy and the UK-Israel Tech Hub, is organizing an brokerage event in the field of Neuroscience. The event will be held on 10 March 2015. For further details and registration please see here.

NIH Seminar on Program Funding and Grants Administration will be taking place in Baltimore, Maryland, on 6-8 May 2015. Sessions are offered in three tracks: administrators, investigators, and all interests. Further information is available here.

In an attempt to assist researchers in locating partners for collaborative H2020 projects, the RGP is interested in establishing a database of scientific European societies (non-profit) that specialize in the detection of calls for proposals, partners searches, and consortia building.

In order to identify similar scientific societies and create a database that will be relevant to your scientific areas of interest, we would highly appreciate it if researchers who are familiar with such societies share this information with the RGP (doron.amit@weizmann.ac.il). The end result will be the establishment of a shared WIS database that enables and encourages researchers to participate in H2020 collaborative projects.

NOTE: This program will potentially support PhD students in your laboratory. The project is not intended for all PhD students. An a priori consent is required for such an appointment and a condition for such consent is that the students be identified as being exceptional by the FGS Dean. Please contact Prof. Irit Sagi for queries regarding the academic qualifications and standing of prospective students.

H2020 MSCA Innovative Training Networks (ITN) 2015 call update: the submission service for this call is available on the Horizon 2020 Participant Portal. This grant provides support for doctoral training programmes for early-stage researchers (ESRs) under the supervision of scientists from academic and non- academic host institutions participating in a consortium. The participation of Weizmann scientists in ITN will be endorsed by Weizmann for the European Training Networks (ETN) mode only (the EID and EJD modes will not be endorsed).

Please note that for the ITN 2015 call, ESRs to be recruited under an ITN-ETN project are to be enrolled in the PhD track at the Feinberg Graduate School (as opposed to the ITN 2014 call in which the recruitment of Postdocs/Visiting Scientists was possible). Therefore, the recruitment of proposed excellent young researchers in the framework of this programme must receive a priori consent of the FGS Dean. It is important to emphasize that the project is not intended for all PhD students and that only outstanding candidates will be approved.

Further information about this call can be found on the RGP website. For additional information, please contact the EU Desk.

A new NIH Genomic Data Sharing Policy becomes effective with NIH grant applications submitted for the 25 January 2015 due date and thereafter.

Applicants preparing such grant applications are expected to:

State in the cover letter that the studies proposed will generate large-scale human and/or non-human genomic data, and

Include a genomic data sharing plan in the application. If sharing of human data is not possible, applicants should provide a justification explaining why they cannot share these data and provide an alternative data sharing plan.

NIH will require use of a new biosketch format in applications for research grants submitted for due dates on or after 25 January 2015. Between now and that time, applicants will have the choice of using the old or new biosketch format.

The revised forms and instructions are now available on the SF 424 (R&R) Forms and Applications page. The new format extends the page limit from four to five pages, and allows researchers to describe up to five of their most significant contributions to science, along with the historical background that framed their research. Investigators can outline the central findings of prior work and the influence of those findings on the investigator's field.

EU - Horizon 2020 update: the Submission Service for the ERC Consolidator 2015 Call is now available on the Horizon 2020 Participant Portal. Application guidelines and proposal form templates are accessible on the RGP website.

This grant provides funding of up to 2M Euro for a period of 5 years and is designed to support researchers who received their PhDs 7-12 years prior to 1.1.2015 and may still be consolidating their own independent research team or programme. Note that the eligibility time-window may be extended in several cases. For additional information on the call eligibility criteria please contact the EU Desk.

EU - Horizon 2020 update: the Submission Service for the ERC Starting 2015 Call is now available on the Horizon 2020 Participant Portal. Application guidelines and proposal form templates are accessible on the RGP website.

This grant provides funding of up to Euro 1.5M for a period of 5 years and is designed to support researchers who are at the stage of starting their own independent research team or programme and received their PhDs 2-7 years prior to 1.1.2015. Note that the eligibility time-window may be extended in several cases. For additional information on the call’s eligibility criteria please contact the EU Desk.

Webinar on What You Need to Know About NIH Application Submission and Review for Research Project Grants (R01) is offered on 10 November 2014 by the NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR). Potential applicants will be able to Meet the Experts in the NIH Webinar and receive useful insights into the submission and peer review processes. See here for more information.

The ISF has updated that due to financial cuts throughout the higher education system, the Translational Bio-Med Research Programhas now been CANCELLED. No applications to this program will be considered in 2014-2015.

Starting on 15 September, Switzerland will enjoy the status of an AC in the following parts of Horizon 2020: Pillar 1 (containing ERC, FET, Research Infrastructures and MSCA), and in 'Spreading excellence and widening participation'. Note that this will apply to all calls with a deadline on or after 15 September 2014, and will be valid until end of December 2016. For all other parts of Horizon 2020, Switzerland will have the status of a developed third country.

Deadlines for the BSF-NSF Joint Program in Computational Neuroscience (CRCNS)has been extended from the original 23 October (RGP), 30 October (Agency), and 28 October (NSF). The new submission deadlines are 12 November (RGP) and 19 November (Agency) 2014. The updated NSF deadline is 14 November 2014.

BSF representatives will arrive at the Weizmann Institute to meet researchers in relation with BSF and BSF-NSF programmes.

The meeting will take place on Sunday,20 July 2014, between 09:00 and 11:00, at the David Lopatie Conference Centre, Presidential Reception Room, and will include presentations to all researchers (about 1.5 hours) and to neurobiology researchers (about 0.5 hours).

Researchers interested in attending the meeting are requested to contact Cochi Cohen (cocava.cohen@weizmann.ac.il) at their earliest convenience.

Due to the current situation in Israel, the ERC-Advanced workshop which was scheduled for Wednesday, 16 July, 2014 between 09:00-13:00 has been cancelled. All optional individual advisory sessions scheduled for the 16-17 July have also been cancelled. Further notification will be circulated should the lecturer reschedule her visit to Israel.

Weizmann researchers are invited to attend a workshop on Writing a Successful ERC-Advanced (AdG) Proposal that will be held at the Weizmann Institute on Wednesday, 16 July, 2014 at 09:00-13:00.

The workshop, by European consultant Ms. Lotte Jaspers, will provide an overview of the ERC-AdG under H2020 and of the proposal structure with a focus on how to address the evaluation criteria and maximize the impact of the proposal. Full details of the agenda and registration (required by Sunday, 13 July) can be viewed here.

Further to information received from the BSF please note that the next submission deadline for the BSF Regular Grants will be 13 November 2014 (the website will be open for submissions from 1 September). The next submission deadline for the joint BSF-NSF Computational Neuroscience Grants will be 28 October 2014 (submission to the NSF). Further information will be announced as soon as it becomes available.

Short one-on-one advisory sessions (~45 min.) with Ms. Jaspers are offered to ERC-AdG applicants and will be held at the Weizmann Institute on the afternoon of Wednesday, 16 July.

During these sessions, prior to which researchers will be asked to provide a short outline of the challenge they aim to address and chosen panel, the consultant will provide feedback and further information on the chosen panel, ideas for structuring the project and how elements as groundbreaking nature, ambition and feasibility could be best addressed within the proposal.

Additional details and registration (required by Sunday, 6 July) can be viewed here. Please kindly take note that as the number of sessions is limited, they will be confirmed to researchers in order of registration. Should there be high demand, additional slots may also be made available on Thursday, 17 July.Scientists are not required to pay for these sessions and are under no obligation to later engage the consultancy services of Yellow Research.

EU - Horizon 2020 update: the Submission Service for the ERC Advanced 2014 Call is now available on the Horizon 2020 Participant Portal. Accordingly, application guidelines and proposal form templates are accessible on the RGP website.

Further to IMOS clarification, please note that Israeli PIs applying to the Britain - Israel Cooperation - Cyber Security call for proposals must provide their UK collaborators submitting the proposal with a completed form which clearly identifies the total costs sought from INCB/MOST for the components of the project which will be carried out in Israel.

Horizon 2020 ERC-AdG training workshop
Weizmann researchers are invited to attend a Horizon 2020 ERC-AdG training workshop with European consultant, Ms. Lotte Jaspers The workshop will comprise an overview of the ERC-AdG under H2020 and of the proposal structure, with a focus on how to address the evaluation criteria and maximize the impact of the proposal.About the consultant: Lotte Jaspers, a partner at Yellow Research, a European consultancy company, has extensive experience in running EU workshops, in the pre-submission proposal review of EU projects and has served as an invited expert evaluator for the European Commission.When and where: The workshop will be held at the Weizmann Institute on Wednesday 16 July, 2014 between 09:00 13:00.Registration: Researchers who wish to attend the ERC-AdG Workshop, are requested to register at their earliest convenience to allow us to prepare accordingly.

Optional individual training sessions
We are checking the option of offering potential ERC-AdG applicants short one-on-one advisory sessions with Ms. Jaspers. During these sessions, in which researchers will be asked to provide a short outline of the challenge they aim to address and chosen panel, the consultant will provide feedback and further information on the chosen panel, ideas for structuring the project and how elements as groundbreaking nature, ambition and feasibility could be best addressed within the proposal.When and where: The sessions will be held at the Weizmann Institute on Wednesday 16 July afternoon and/or Thursday 17 July, 2014.Registration: If you are interested in a short one-on-one advisory session, please kindly register at your earliest convenience by Sunday 22 June 2014.

Please note that due to a limited number of sessions that will be available, in case of high demand, the sessions will be confirmed to researchers in the order of registration. Further details of both the workshop and the one-on-one sessions will be published soon.

The new Research Grants and Projects (RGP) website has been operating now for over 3 months. While we believe the new website to represent a significant improvement in user-friendliness and responsiveness to researchers needs, we ask you to help us improve the new site further by reporting any problems you may have encountered. Please send such reports, as well as any feedback you feel is relevant regarding the new website, to Dr. Igal Nevo (igal.nevo@weizmann.ac.il) by 1 June 2014 at the latest.

Weizmann researchers are invited to attend a short presentation and learn about a new funding initiative: Healthy Living and Active Ageing - a 500 million Euro consortium in areas of vaccine and personalized medicine.

The presentation Concept for a Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) in Healthy Living and Active Ageing, by Mr. Holm Keller, Executive Vice President for University Development and Incubator, Leuphana University, Lueneburg, Germany, will take place on Wednesday, 28 May 2014 at 10:15-11:15 A.M. at the Zacks Hall (Mezzanine level, Stone Administration Building).

Background:
The KIC, led by the Leuphana Healthy Ageing Net, has been formed in anticipation of the call by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), published in February 2014, to address a fundamental aspect of demographic change: Healthy Living and Active Ageing, and has been joined by the Weizmann Institute, thus enabling Weizmann researchers to participate.

Five industries have been identified as having the potential to address the challenges identified by the EIT and will serve as the focus areas of this consortium:

The AFM-Telethon call for proposals deadline for both Research Projects and Trampoline Grants has been extended from the original 22 May (RGP) and 30 May (Agency) to 26 May (RGP) and 2 June 2014 (Agency).

Ehud Galun, Head of Materials Department at MAFAT as well as additional MAFAT representatives will arrive at the Weizmann Institute to meet researchers in relation with IMOD 2014 call for proposals. The meeting is intended to provide further information and expand on the new MAFAT call recently issued, to meet current awardees and potential applicants, and to initiate a fruitful and personal dialogue between MAFAT personnel and WIS researchers.

The meeting will take place on Thursday, 22 May 2014 at 09:00, at the Zacks Hall and will include:

MAFAT presentations (1.5 hours)

Q and A session (0.5 hour)

One on one meetings with researchers (1 hour)

Researchers interested in attending the presentation and/or scheduling a one on one meeting are requested to contact Drora Kaplan (drora.kaplan@weizmann.ac.il, Tel.: 4027) by Sunday, 18 May 2014.

The deadline for the IMOs-Italy call for proposalshas been extended from the original 8 May (RGP) and 15 May (Agency) to 25 May (RGP) and 5 June (Agency) 2014. Please note that IMOS has clarified that Israeli PIs may submit more extended proposals than their Italian collaborators (up to 8 pages). In addition, the form has been revised to include also an abstract.

The Israel-EU Research and Development Directorate (ISERD), in collaboration with the UK Embassy and the UK-Israel Tech Hub, is organizing an brokerage event in the field of Nano-Bio and Neuroscience, with the aim of identifying potential UK-Israel collaborations towards H2020 calls (in 2015) in the Health and NMPB challenges. The event will be held on 30 June 2014. For further details and registration please see here.

Deadline for the IMOA Collaboration with China call has been extended from 23 April (RGP) and 30 April (Agency) to 15 May (RGP) and 22 May (Agency) 2014. In addition, IMOA has clarified that there is now no obligation for the Israeli PI to sign any Chinese letter of commitment.

Researchers wishing to submit applications to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 5 June 2014 deadline are requested to note that due to Shavuot holiday (during which the RGP offices will be closed), applications will need to be submitted by 1 June 2014. For this reason, potential applicants should provide the RGP with the complete application no later than 18 May 2014, in order to make it in time for the 5 June deadline.

The information on the estimated evaluation timeframes for the 2014 ERC Starting (StG), Consolidator (CoG) and Proof of Concept (PoC) calls are available on the RGP ERC calls and Deadlines tab, at the table under the Evaluation Timeframe column.

The European Commission has recently published a Self-evaluation form for FET Open Research Projects (FETOPEN 1) and FET Proactive calls. The form reflects the FET-specific evaluation criteria and aims to help applicants identify ways to improve their proposals. The form is available on the RGP FET webpage , under the CALLS FOR THIS ACTIVITY section, below the calls table.

The ERC has announced an extension to the deadline for the 2014 Starting Grant call due to technical problems on the Participant Portal on Tuesday 25 March. The new deadline is now Thursday 27 March 2014, at 17:00 Brussels time.

The BSF in collaboration with the NSF is expected to publish a call for proposals in the field of neuroscience, presumably in the coming week. US pre-proposals deadline is 1 May 2014. For further information at this stage please see the following message from the BSF.

EU - Horizon 2020 update: the Submission Service for the ERC Consolidator 2014 Call is now available on the Horizon 2020 Participant Portal. Accordingly, proposal form templates are accessible on the RGP website.

Further to the notification sent to you as an ERC grantee who is eligible to submit a Proof of Concept (PoC) proposal, we would like to remind you of the visit at Weizmann of Ms. Veronica Beneitez Pinero (PoC Call Coordinator) and Mr. Janne Salo (Scientific Officer) from the ERC Executive Agency located in Brussels who will be giving a short presentation (~1hr) on the ERC PoC funding scheme under the H2020 program (Euro 150,000 for up to 18 months).

The presentation Writing an ERC-PoC Proposal for ERC Grant Holders will take place on Tuesday, 4 March 2014 at 09:00 - 10:00 AM at the Presidential Reception Room at the David Lopatie Conference Centre.

If you intend on submitting an ERC-PoC proposal, we highly encourage you to attend. Please notify the EU Desk at your earliest and by Friday, 28 February, if you wish to attend and have not yet registered.

EU - Horizon 2020 update: additional information for the ERC Starting and Consolidator 2014 calls is now available on the RGP website including application guidelines and proposal form templates (for the ERC Starting Call only).

The Research Grants and Projects (RGP) Office is pleased to announce the launch of our new website.

Emphasis has been placed on providing a comprehensive and effective search utility for potential funding opportunities to support your research.

While we believe the new website to represent a significant improvement in user-friendliness and responsiveness to researchers’ needs, we ask you to help us improve the new site further by reporting any problems you may encounter. Please send such reports, as well as any feedback you feel is relevant regarding the new website, to Dr. Igal Nevo (igal.nevo@weizmann.ac.il).

Scientists are invited and encouraged to sign up for
UKRO's Targeted Information Service
(select the link "Create Profile" to register)

UKRO, a leading UK-based information and advice service on EU research and higher education (to which the Weizmann Institute is subscribed), offers a Targeted Information Service to its subscribers. All researchers from the Weizmann Institute are eligible to register for this service, which allows users to:

receive e-mail information packages tailored to their specific research and policy interests at a frequency of their choice;

view their chosen information on a tailored personal news page on the UKRO web site;

bookmark articles of specific interest for easy access at all times via the personal news page; and

search for specific funding and policy information.

The registration process is completely straightforward and is achieved by completing a simple online form available on the UKRO website (select the link "Create Profile" from the main page). The registration process takes only a couple of minutes to complete.

More information on the Targeted Information Service is available in the User Guide available on the UKRO site.

Weizmann researchers are invited to attend Horizon 2020 workshops by European consultant, Ms. Lotte Jasper. The workshops on Writing Successful Proposals for ERC and Collaborative Projects will be held at Weizmann on Tuesday, 21 January 2014. Full details of the workshops’ agenda and registration can be viewed here.

In collaboration with ISERD the Weizmann Institute is organising an EU HORIZON 2020 PROGRAMME INFO-DAY FOR RESEARCHERS AND DEPARTMENTAL ADMINISTRATORS to take place on 12 January 2014 between 9:00 AM and 15:30 PM at the Schmidt Lecture Hall. For further details and the day's agenda see here. For registration please contact the RGP office EU desk by Wednesday, 8 January 2014

The RGP Strongly Recommends:
Register to serve as a reviewer for the NIH! Contact the RGP Office (igal.nevo@weizmann.ac.il) with the details requested below to volunteer to serve as a potential reviewer in NIH Study Sections.

Further to a visit to the Weizmann Institute in November 2007 by Dr. Antonio Scarpa, Director of the NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR), we learned a number of relevant and very interesting points:

The Israeli success rate in NIH grant applications is 30%, as compared to under 10% for US applicants!

Israel is in 7th place worldwide among non-US recipients of NIH grants, and Dr. Scarpa clearly stated that there is room for improvement (i.e. he is encouraging more submissions from Israel)

In terms of review, contrary to common misconceptions, there is no bias against foreign applications! (as can be witnessed from the high success rate of Israeli applicants)

25% of grants allocated by the NIH are reserved for "new/young investigators" (Note: a "New investigator" is defined as a researcher, including senior/advanced researchers, who has never had an NIH grant). Thus, anyone who has not yet had an NIH grant is strongly encouraged to apply!

It is NOT necessary, or even helpful, to include a US investigator as a co-PI on an application, unless of course it is warranted on a scientific basis

The NIH is willing to accept Israeli reviewers to serve in CSR Study Sections (this can on occasion be done remotely, so you will not necessarily be required to travel to the US), and Dr. Scarpa has generously agreed to receive a list of such potential reviewers from the Weizmann Institute. This is a unique opportunity of which the RGP strongly recommends that Weizmann Institute researchers take advantage! The RGP will periodically forward the details of those Weizmann Institute researchers who express such an interest to the CSR. The information we need to receive is as follows: